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To build a Zigbee door and window alarm in Home Assistant, pair a compatible contact sensor through a Zigbee coordinator, confirm its open/closed state, create an alarm entity with the Manual Alarm integration, and automate that alarm to trigger when a protected opening is opened while armed. Add a notification automation for phone alerts; a siren requires a separate compatible device.
What you need before you start
The basic build has four parts: Home Assistant, a Zigbee coordinator, one or more Zigbee door/window contact sensors, and an alarm entity plus automations. A contact sensor reports whether an opening is open or closed; the coordinator lets it join the Zigbee network; Home Assistant uses that sensor state to decide when to trigger the alarm.
Think of these as separate jobs: the coordinator and integration connect devices, the contact sensor reports an opening, the Manual Alarm entity represents the alarm’s state and timing, and automations link the two and provide alerts. A notification or siren is an additional outcome, not something a contact sensor or alarm entity supplies automatically.
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If you already have a Zigbee network running through ZHA, Zigbee2MQTT, or another integration, plan to use that existing setup rather than adding a second coordinator without a migration or coexistence plan. The steps below describe a ZHA-based build. If your devices are managed by another Zigbee integration, keep the pairing and device instructions specific to that integration.
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If you are starting a new ZHA network and do not have a coordinator, Home Assistant’s ZHA documentation recommends Connect ZBT-2 for new users. A coordinator is required for Zigbee devices to join the network; buying a contact sensor alone is not enough.
Do not treat ZHA and an existing Zigbee stack as interchangeable pairing screens. The sensor must join the network managed by the integration you intend to use. If you change stacks, make a migration plan rather than assuming a second coordinator will automatically share devices or make them appear in Home Assistant.
Choose a sensor by exact model
Check compatibility reports for the precise sensor model and its pairing procedure before buying. Home Assistant does not publish an official ZHA out-of-the-box compatibility list that guarantees individual devices will work. The ZHA documentation directs users to community device reports and device-specific pairing information. A sensor’s Zigbee branding alone does not establish that it will expose the expected entities or behave correctly in your setup.
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Check more than the product category: verify that the exact model has a device-specific pairing path and that users report the behavior you need in the integration you plan to run. No particular contact-sensor model can be recommended here as guaranteed compatible. Likewise, there is no established price or battery-life figure to use as a dependable buying comparison. Avoid choosing on an unsupported assumption that every Zigbee contact sensor presents the same controls or entity classification.
Pair the sensor and verify its state
- Open ZHA’s device-joining flow in Home Assistant. ZHA scans for devices and adds a discovered device to its Zigbee network. Follow the integration’s setup flow rather than attempting to pair the sensor only through its manufacturer’s app.
- Put the sensor into pairing mode. Use the manufacturer’s reset and pairing instructions for the exact model. The button sequence and timing are model-specific, so do not assume one sensor’s reset method applies to another.
- Wait for ZHA to discover it. When the sensor is found, complete the add-device flow. If it does not appear, check that the sensor is in pairing mode and that the coordinator and integration you intend to use are the ones active in Home Assistant.
- Test the contact physically. Open and close the door or window and confirm that the corresponding Home Assistant entity changes between open and closed. Do this before building the alarm automation; an automation cannot reliably respond to a state the integration is not reporting.
Repeat the pairing and physical test for each opening you intend to protect. Keep track of which entity belongs to each door or window so you can select the right sensor when you configure triggers. This is particularly useful if one automation handles several openings: a wrong or omitted entity can leave an opening outside the alarm logic even though its sensor has joined the Zigbee network.
Pairing is not the same as verifying the whole alarm path. At this stage, the test is simply whether the sensor changes state when the contact separates and returns to closed when it is restored. If it does not, do not try to compensate with an alarm automation. Resolve the pairing or entity behavior first, using the device-specific instructions and compatibility reports for that model.
Make sure Home Assistant recognizes a door entity correctly
Home Assistant’s Door integration supplies door-open and door-closed triggers for binary_sensor entities with the door device class. A contact sensor can be used on an entry door, patio door, or interior door when its entity meets that requirement.
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Do not assume every contact sensor automatically qualifies for those Door triggers. If your entity does not have the door device class, the Door integration will not include it as a door. You can instead use the entity’s reported state with an ordinary state trigger, or correct its classification where appropriate. The important test is that the entity reports the expected open and closed states when you operate the opening.
This distinction affects trigger choice, not whether a sensor can be useful. A sensor that reports open and closed can still be used with an ordinary state trigger even if it is not exposed as a door-class entity. Conversely, selecting a door-specific trigger does not make an incorrectly classified or non-reporting entity work. Check the entity itself before deciding which trigger type to use.
Create the alarm entity with Manual Alarm
Home Assistant’s Manual Alarm control panel integration creates an alarm system in Home Assistant. As the integration documentation puts it, “The Manual Alarm control panel integration enables you to create an alarm system in Home Assistant.” It supports optional code checking, arming time, pending or delay time, and trigger duration. This alarm entity provides the armed/disarmed logic for your automations; it does not, by itself, make a physical siren sound or send a phone notification.
Create the Manual Alarm entity before wiring up the opening automations. That gives the automation a specific alarm entity to check and trigger, and it gives you a place to set the timing and code behavior. Treat the entity as the logic layer: a sensor reports a change, an automation decides whether that change matters while armed, and the alarm entity moves into its triggered behavior when the automation calls the trigger action.
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The current Manual Alarm documentation (version 2026.10.0) lists these global defaults:
| Setting | Documented default | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Arming time | 60 seconds | The time allowed for the alarm to arm. |
| Delay time | 60 seconds | The pending time before an alarm trigger. |
| Trigger time | 120 seconds | How long the alarm remains triggered. |
These are documented defaults, not security recommendations. Select timings that fit how people enter and leave your home, and review any state-specific settings because they can override the global values. If there is no need for an exit countdown or an entry grace period, do not keep a delay merely because it is the default. A delay gives someone more time to disarm the system, but it also postpones the trigger.
Consider each setting separately instead of treating the three numbers as a package. The arming time is relevant to the period after you start arming, the delay time is the pending period before a trigger, and the trigger time controls how long the alarm remains triggered. Decide how much time household members need to leave after arming and to disarm after entering. The appropriate values depend on those routines; the documentation’s defaults do not establish that a particular duration is right for every home.
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State-specific timing settings can override global values, so inspect the settings that apply to the mode you actually use. Otherwise, you may believe an alarm is following one timing value while a more specific setting controls its behavior. During testing, allow enough time to observe the arming and pending phases rather than judging the setup from the final triggered state alone.
Code checking is optional. Decide whether the household needs a code to arm or disarm the alarm, and configure the integration accordingly. The documentation establishes that code checking is supported, but the right choice depends on who will use the system and how you want to manage access.
Trigger the alarm when a protected opening opens
Create an automation for each protected sensor, or one automation that covers the selected sensors. The logic is the same: an opening changes to open, the alarm is currently armed, and Home Assistant calls the alarm trigger action. Home Assistant’s Manual Alarm documentation shows this pattern using a sensor state trigger, a condition checking the armed state, and the alarm_control_panel.alarm_trigger action.
The armed-state condition is essential. Without it, an opening could trigger the alarm when someone is entering or leaving while the system is disarmed. Keeping the condition in the automation makes the intended rule explicit: only an opening event that occurs while the alarm is armed proceeds to the trigger action.
- Choose the trigger. Select the contact sensor and have the automation respond when its state changes to open. If the entity has the
doordevice class, you can use a Door integration open trigger. Otherwise use an ordinary state trigger for that entity. - Add an armed-state condition. Require the alarm entity to be armed before proceeding. This prevents an ordinary opening from triggering the alarm while the system is disarmed. Use the state exposed by your alarm entity and the condition options presented in your Home Assistant configuration.
- Call the trigger action. Add the
alarm_control_panel.alarm_triggeraction for the Manual Alarm entity. The alarm’s configured delay and trigger timing determine its behavior. - Save and test the automation. Test with the alarm disarmed, then armed. Confirm that opening a protected door while disarmed does not trigger the alarm, and that opening it while armed follows the delay and trigger behavior you configured.
If you use several sensors, test each one. A correctly configured automation for the front door does not prove that a patio or window sensor is selected correctly. Test closing the opening as well, so you know the sensor reliably returns to its closed state before the next arm cycle.
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For one automation covering multiple sensors, make sure each intended entity is included in the trigger configuration and that the opening condition matches the sensor’s reported state. For separate automations, verify that each one checks the same alarm entity and applies the armed-state condition. Either organization can implement the described logic; the important point is that no protected sensor is accidentally left out and that all triggers lead to the intended alarm entity.
Use the alarm’s configured delay and trigger time rather than assuming an opening instantly produces every possible alert. The automation calls the alarm trigger action; the Manual Alarm entity determines its alarm behavior, while separate notification or siren automations respond to the resulting triggered state. Keeping these stages distinct makes failures easier to identify.
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Add notifications or an audible alert
Phone notification
A phone alert is a separate automation outcome. Configure an automation that responds when the alarm entity changes to triggered, then use the notification action available in your Home Assistant setup. This keeps the notification tied to the alarm’s state rather than sending a message every time a contact sensor opens, including when the alarm is disarmed.
Test the notification independently from the sensor and alarm logic. First confirm that the alarm reaches triggered when an armed opening is detected; then check that the notification automation responds to that state. If the alarm triggers but the phone alert does not arrive, the sensor has already done its part, so investigate the notification action and its destination rather than changing the contact trigger.
Siren
An audible alert requires a separate physical siren. ZHA lists sirens as a supported device type, but that category does not guarantee that a particular model will pair or expose the controls you need. Check the exact model’s device-specific pairing information, pair it through your Zigbee integration, and confirm its controls before relying on it. Then add a separate automation action to activate the siren when the alarm is triggered, if the model exposes a suitable control.
Do not buy a siren based only on a general supported-device category. No specific siren model is established as compatible here. Confirm the exact model and its available controls before planning an automation around it. The phone notification and siren are separate choices: a notification needs a notification action, while an audible alarm needs a compatible physical device as well as an action that can operate it.
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- Open and close every sensor and verify its state changes correctly in Home Assistant.
- Arm the alarm and check that its configured arming time behaves as intended.
- Open a protected door while the alarm is armed and verify the pending or delay behavior, if configured.
- Disarm the alarm during the pending period and confirm that the trigger is prevented as intended.
- Open a protected door while the alarm is disarmed and confirm that the armed-state condition blocks the trigger.
- Confirm that the alarm reaches the triggered state when expected, and that the notification or siren automation responds to that state.
Run these tests with each protected opening, not just one convenient sensor. Test both opening and closing transitions, then repeat the armed and disarmed cases. That checks the physical input, the selected trigger, the armed-state condition, and the alarm entity as a connected sequence rather than assuming that successful pairing proves the rest of the configuration.
These checks distinguish a sensor problem from an alarm or notification automation problem. If the sensor state does not change, resolve pairing or entity behavior first. If the state changes but the alarm does not, inspect the automation’s trigger, armed-state condition, and selected alarm entity. If the alarm triggers but no alert arrives, check the separate notification or siren automation.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsAlso verify the timing you selected in practice: the arming period, the pending period after an opening, and how long the alarm remains triggered. Confirm the disarm behavior during the pending period and make sure the household understands the chosen entry and exit routine. Testing is not a reason to assume that the documented defaults are suitable; it is how you confirm that your configured values and automations produce the behavior you intended.
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When MQTT is relevant
Home Assistant’s MQTT integration supports alarm control panel entities and can be configured through the UI. It is an optional route when your existing alarm setup already uses MQTT; it is not required for the straightforward ZHA plus Manual Alarm build described here. Avoid adding MQTT just to make a contact sensor trigger an alarm if ZHA and Manual Alarm already meet your needs.
Choose the MQTT route because it fits an existing MQTT-based setup, not as an extra prerequisite for pairing a Zigbee contact sensor. For the ZHA path in this guide, the coordinator and ZHA connect the sensor, while Manual Alarm and automations provide the alarm behavior. If you use another Zigbee integration, keep its device instructions aligned with that stack rather than introducing MQTT without a reason.
What this build does—and does not—provide
This setup joins a Zigbee contact sensor to Home Assistant and uses an alarm entity and automation to react to an opening while armed. It can also invoke a configured notification action or a compatible siren automation. It does not establish a guarantee of security effectiveness, promise a particular sensor battery life, or make every Zigbee-branded product compatible. Confirm the exact device behavior in your own integration and test the complete sequence before relying on it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Zigbee coordinator to use a Zigbee door sensor with Home Assistant?
Yes. A Zigbee contact sensor needs a coordinator and a compatible Home Assistant integration to join the network. For new ZHA users who do not already have a coordinator, Home Assistant currently recommends Connect ZBT-2.
Will any Zigbee contact sensor work with ZHA?
No. Home Assistant does not provide an official ZHA out-of-the-box compatibility list for every individual device. Check reports and pairing information for the exact model before buying; Zigbee branding alone does not guarantee that it will expose the entities or behavior you need.
Do I have to use the Door integration trigger?
No. Door-open and door-closed triggers require a binary_sensor with the door device class. If your contact sensor does not have that class but reports open and closed states, use an ordinary state trigger instead, or correct the classification where appropriate.
What are the Manual Alarm timing defaults?
Home Assistant’s Manual Alarm documentation version 2026.10.0 lists defaults of 60 seconds for arming time, 60 seconds for delay time, and 120 seconds for trigger time. They are documented defaults, not recommended settings, and state-specific values can override global ones.
Does the alarm entity send a phone alert or make a siren sound by itself?
No. The Manual Alarm entity supplies alarm behavior, but a phone notification needs a separate automation, and an audible alert needs a separate compatible physical siren and an automation that can operate it. ZHA’s siren device category does not guarantee compatibility for every model.
Do I need MQTT for the ZHA and Manual Alarm setup?
No. MQTT is an optional route when an existing setup already uses MQTT. It is not required for the straightforward ZHA plus Manual Alarm build.
The Bottom Line
Start with the Zigbee setup you already run, verify the exact sensor model, and test every opening’s state before creating alarm logic. Use Manual Alarm for armed behavior and timing, trigger it only when a sensor opens while armed, and add notifications or a siren as separate outcomes. Confirm arming, delay, disarming, triggering, and alerts end to end before relying on the setup.
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